Doctor Who
by montypython203
Summary: Post Series Three. Crossover with The Grinch. The Doctor finds himself in Whoville in Christmas Eve.


_Title: Doctor Who (that's not because I couldn't think of a title)_

Rating: K

_Summary: Post Series 3. Crossover with The Grinch. The Doctor finds himself in Whoville on Christmas Eve. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or The Grinch._

_Author's Note: This is my belated Christmas fic. I hope you enjoy it._

**Doctor Who**

The Doctor didn't know how it happened. One minute he was just floating along in the time vortex, the next the TARDIS was spinning out of control. He tried to move around the central console to slow his ship down a bit, but there were just too many controls to use at once.

_That's why you need a companion_, he thought to himself. But he didn't have time to continue this trail of thought, as just then the TARDIS crashed down, having materialised. The Doctor rubbed his head and stared at the scanner screen. He sighed. Christmas trees, snow, and he could hear the faint sound of carollers.

"Not today, thank you," he muttered. "Come on old girl, let's get out of here." But the TARDIS refused to budge. The lights were even beginning to dim, which meant it was running out of power.

"I get it – you need a couple of hours to recharge, right?" asked the Doctor. The TARDIS hummed in reply.

"And I take it you don't want me around when it's happening?" continued the Doctor. "Oh very well. I may as well have a bit of an explore." He put on his coat and stepped outside. Wherever he was, it was definitely Christmas. The whole place was practically singing. Slowly the Doctor made his way down the street, not really paying attention to where he was going. Suddenly he found himself stepping on the feet of the girl in front of him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said to her. The girl turned around, giving the Doctor a chance to observe her. She looked no older than 7 or 8, with long blonde hair and sparkling brown eyes. Her 2 front teeth were somewhat enlarged, and her nose was slightly upturned.

"That's okay sir," she said, before cocking her head to the side. "Oh, you're a strange looking Who."

"A what?" asked the Doctor.

"A Who," repeated the girl. "You _are_ a Who, right?" The Doctor looked around, and noticed that all the people surrounding him had the same nose and teeth as the girl. He decided not to complicate matters.

"Yes, of course I'm a Who," he replied. "I just had some plastic surgery, that's all. The teeth got a bit much for me, I kept running out of toothpaste."

"I see," said the girl, slightly confused. "Anyway, my name is Cindy Lou Who." She extended her hand.

"I'm the Doctor," said the Doctor.

"Pleased to meet you Doctor Who," said Cindy Lou, shaking the Doctor's hand.

"No it's just the Doc… oh, never mind," muttered the Doctor. He then proceeded to walk down the busy street, Cindy Lou at his side. "So Cindy Lou, what are you doing out here on your own?"

"My parents are doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, so they said I could wander around on my own," explained Cindy Lou. "Of course, last Christmas I managed to persuade everyone that you don't need presents for Christmas, but everyone still loves them."

"Quite right," agreed the Doctor. "Unfortunately I'm not really in the Christmas spirit at the moment."

"You don't care _that_ much about presents, do you Doctor Who?" Cindy Lou asked. "Because Christmas isn't all about presents. It's about spending time with the ones you love."

"That's my problem," said the Doctor, sitting down on a park bench. "I don't have anyone." Cindy Lou looked shocked.

"What, no family?" she questioned.

"Nope, they all died," said the Doctor quietly. "Every one of them."

"What about friends?" persisted Cindy Lou. "A nice man like you must have friends." The Doctor gave her a small smile.

"A few," he admitted. "Sometimes I have people travelling with me. But they all leave in the end. Either by choice, or not. Somehow I just don't think I was destined to find everlasting happiness with the people around me."

"You can't be sure of that," said Cindy Lou. "Take my friend the Grinch. He hated all the Whos since he was 8 years old, and didn't want anything to do with Christmas. But last Christmas I made friends with him, and now everyone loves him." As if on cue, the Doctor noticed a hairy green humanoid walking down the street, an attractive woman by his side.

"That's the Grinch now," said Cindy Lou. "And the woman next to him is his wife – Martha May Who." The Doctor sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Cindy Lou nervously.

"Martha," said the Doctor quietly. "That was the name of my last companion. She was a great woman, really she was. Brilliant, in fact. But she had to leave."

"How come Doctor Who?" enquired Cindy Lou.

"You wouldn't understand," said the Doctor. But Cindy Lou put her hands on her hips, encouraging the Doctor to go on. "Oh all right. The thing is, she fell in love with me. But I was, am, still in love with my friend Rose. That made things very awkward between me and Martha."

"Oh," said Cindy Lou, slowly nodding her head. "That's like Martha May. The mayor was in love with her, but she was in love with the Grinch. They didn't speak to each other for a while, but they eventually got over it. So … what happened to this Rose?"

"She's gone," sighed the Doctor. "Trapped. Mind you, she's with her family. At least _she's _got someone to celebrate Christmas with."

"But you don't," finished Cindy Lou, a small tear making its way down her face. She jumped up from the bench and faced the Doctor. "In that case, I think you'd better spend Christmas with me and my family."

"No thanks," said the Doctor.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," insisted Cindy Lou. "Christmas is the worst time of the year to be sad. You need to be with people, to at least be touched with a small bit of Christmas spirit." She held out her small hand for the Doctor, who smiled and took it. It didn't fit as well as Rose's, but it didn't matter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Doctor had no problem getting acquainted with the rest of Cindy Lou's family. It was true – the Christmas spirit really did seem to thrive in this place. They ate a nice large roast goose, which the Doctor himself was allowed to cut, and had a toast at dinner.

"To family," said Lou Who.

"To friends," added Betty Lou Who.

"To Rose," finished the Doctor.

After dinner the Doctor was ready to leave. Cindy Lou walked with him back to the TARDIS, where she gave him a hug.

"What are you doing, Doctor Who?" she asked him.

"I'm off to see the stars," answered the Doctor. "There are whole worlds out there, just waiting to be explored. I don't belong here eating Christmas dinner. I belong out there, living the best life I can live. But thank you Cindy, for everything."

"I'm glad to have helped, Doctor Who," said Cindy Lou, smiling.

"Yeah … one more thing," said the Doctor. "Just call me the Doctor."

"Oh, okay the Doctor," said Cindy Lou. The Doctor shook his head and made his way into the TARDIS. He set the controls and soon he was away. Meeting Cindy Lou and her family had taught him something. Even when things seem the most miserable, you can find salvation in the most unexpected place. Even the most undeserving person in the universe (say, one that destroyed their own planet) can be loved.

_And most importantly, _thought the Doctor with a twinkle in his eye,_Christmas is the time of miracles._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_That was where I planned to leave it. However, I did have a small idea of where Rose could come into it (either a reunion or just a bit of satisfaction on her part). If you want to tell me your opinion, or just comment on the story, please review._


End file.
